Integrated ventilation system for electronic equipment

ABSTRACT

One embodiment of a method of providing ventilation to electronic equipment comprises receiving exhaust air flow from first electronic equipment positioned next to a ventilation structure; directing the exhaust air flow out of exhaust fan assembly of the ventilation structure; receiving cold air from an intake fan assembly of the ventilation structure; and directing the cold air to an intake vent of second electronic equipment positioned next to the ventilation structure.

BACKGROUND

Data centers and network rooms have been experiencing problems with heatfor several years. In network rooms, computer hardware is installed incomputer racks and cabinets. Generally, computer racks are lined up inalternating rows with cold-air intakes all facing one aisle (a coldaisle) and hot-air exhausts all facing another aisle (a hot aisle). Onepotential problem is hardware that features side-to-side ventilationhaving a right-to-left airflow pattern does not match up with the layoutof the cold and hot aisles in the network room that is designed for afront-to-back airflow pattern.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting a front view of one embodiment of anintegrated ventilation system in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is perspective view of the embodiment of the integratedventilation system of FIG. 1 according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting a representation of one embodiment of theintegrated ventilation system in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing air-flow patterns of one implementation ofthe integrated ventilation system of FIG. 3 for a particular arrangementaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram depicting the integrated ventilation system of FIG.4 in close proximity to neighboring network racks according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the arrangement of FIG. 4. with the additionof a network rack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram depicting an arrangement of network racks andembodiments of the integrated ventilation systems for overlappingelectronic equipment vents according to the present disclosure.

FIGS. 8-10 are flow chart diagrams describing embodiments of a method ofproviding ventilation to electronic equipment in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In front-to-back cooling systems, ambient air is drawn in the computerhardware from the front and heated exhaust air is discharged to therear. However, some vendors have adopted side-to-side cooling airflow intheir computer and electronic products. For example, Cisco has beenusing side-to-side cooling with the introduction of the 5K series switchand side-to-side cooling is now prominent in 4K, 5K, 6K, and 7K seriesrouters and switches.

Accordingly, FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting a front view of oneembodiment of an integrated ventilation system 100, 105 in accordancewith the present disclosure that adapts airflow patterns in a networkroom's cold and hot aisles with computer hardware or electronicequipment 110 having side-to-side airflow ventilation.

In FIG. 2, a diagram depicting a perspective view of the integratedventilation system 100 is shown. The design of one embodiment of theintegrated ventilation system 100 allows networking racks 120, 130housing side-to-side cooling hardware or equipment 110, 200 to receivecold air from in front of the rack 120, 130 (e.g., a cold air aisle) tothe appropriate intake or cooling vents of the hardware 110 and todirect or channel hot air being exhausted from the hardware 200 to therear of the rack (e.g., a hot air aisle).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the integrated ventilation system 100 featuresa vertical cable management assembly or rack 132 integrated into thesystem 100 at opposite faces of the integrated ventilation system 100.The integrated ventilation system 100 is designed to be positioned nextto one or more network racks 120, 130. In one implementation, theintegrated ventilation system 100 is sandwiched between two networkracks 120, 130. Further, in one possible implementation, the integratedventilation system 100 is integrated with a first cable managementassembly 132 at a front face of the rack 120 and a second cablemanagement assembly 135 (FIG. 2) at a rear face of the rack 120. In oneembodiment, rungs or brackets of the cable management assembly 132, 135extend about, but not limited to, 3 inches from the face of the networkrack next to it. The integrated ventilation system 100, in oneembodiment, generally conforms to a footprint of a standard network rackexcept for the width of the integrated ventilation system beingconsiderably smaller and for rungs/brackets of the cable managerassembly 132, 135 extending past the network rack rails. In oneembodiment, a width of the integrated ventilation system is, but notlimited to being, six inches. Accordingly, varying widths may beemployed, such as 9 inches and 12 inches, to accommodate differentpreferences and/or requirements. Similarly, lengths of other dimensions(e.g., height and depth) of the integrated ventilation system 100 mayalso vary in different embodiments to accommodate particular preferencesand/or requirements.

The integrated ventilation system 100, in one embodiment, includes afour post (P1, P2, P3, P4) frame structure, as shown in FIG. 2. The fourpost frame structure comprises horizontal mounting rails at a top andbottom portion of the frame structure to form a base and top having arectangular cross section. Each vertical mounting rail, in oneembodiment, includes a series of evenly-spaced, threaded mountingapertures or locations, extending along substantially its entire length,for use in mounting fan assemblies, panels, cable management assemblies,patch panels, or the like thereto. The rack rail holes on the integratedventilation system, in one embodiment, are arranged in sets of threeholes, spaced vertically ⅝ of an inch apart.

In many other network-type racks, cable management is provided at afront part of the rack. In contrast, the integrated ventilation system100 contains cable management at both the front and rear of the system.For example, in some hardware devices, fiber optic or copper cable maybe connected at the rear or the front of the device. Also, there arepower cables that connect to the device at the rear. With a cablemanagement rack or assembly 135 at the rear, the power and/or networkingcables can be secured properly so they do not get pulled out.

Note, in a network room or data center environment, a patch panel devicewill be mounted with the electronic equipment 110, 200 within a networkrack 120, 130. Generally, the patch panel device will sit on a top orbottom of a rack 120, 130 that has fiber or copper patch panels. Fromthe patch panels, cables are generally plugged and then routed into theequipment. In one embodiment, a patch panel is further integrated withthe integrated ventilation system 100. In this way, by moving the patchpanel device from the network rack to the integrated ventilation system100, more room is available within the network rack.

The integrated ventilation system 100 also includes one or more intakehigh speed fans 140 to facilitate and increase the flow of air from infront of the rack 120, 130 and the integrated ventilation system 100 toa side of the rack 120, 130 housing equipment or hardware 110 withintake ventilation. In one embodiment, fan assemblies 140 may besubstantially flush with the network rails positioned to its side.

A user can configure the number of fans 140 to deploy and the placementof individual intake fans 140 within the integrated ventilation system100. Therefore, the integrated ventilation system 100 is adjustable toaccommodate for various vendor types of hardware configurations. Aspreviously discussed, a vertical mounting rail, in one embodiment,includes a series of evenly-spaced, threaded mounting apertures orlocations, extending along substantially its entire length, for use inmounting fan assemblies, panels, cable management assemblies, patchpanels, or the like thereto.

One embodiment of the integrated ventilation system 100 also includesone or more outtake or exhaust high speed fans 150 (FIG. 2) tofacilitate and increase airflow to be exhausted from computer hardwareor electronic equipment mounted in the rack 120,130 to an area behindthe rack (e.g., the hot aisle). A user can configure the number ofouttake fans 150 to deploy and the placement of individual fans 150within the integrated ventilation system 100.

By integrating an integrated ventilation system 100 that will direct air(intake and exhaust) and a cable manager into one piece of hardware andincluding a dedicated cold air intake in addition to a dedicated hot airexhaust in a system with a small footprint, network room cooling isimproved, along with efficient use of network room real estate. Further,the design is modular so that a standard networking rack (e.g., oneconforms to Electronic Industries Alliance standards and specifications)for use can be attached to the integrated ventilation system and used instandard deployments.

If one was to eliminate the fans 140, 150, then the air becomes staticand must be moved solely or predominantly by the intake and exhaust fansof the computer hardware or electronic equipment 110. By integratingindividual fans for both intake and exhaust in the integratedventilation system 100, the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of airflow issignificantly increased through a piece of computer hardware 110.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, three network racks 115, 120, 130 areshown. Each network rack 115, 120, 130 contains a piece of computerhardware or electronic equipment 110, 200, 205. Two integratedventilation systems 100, 105 are shown in between respective networkracks 115, 120, 130. In the view of FIG. 2, the integrated ventilationsystems 100, 105 are positioned in a cold air aisle so that componentsof the integrated ventilation system are visible. In use, the integratedventilation systems will be slid in between or positioned adjacent tothe network racks 115, 120, 130 and bolted to the adjacent racks, asreflected in FIG. 1. In one embodiment, the integrated ventilationsystem 100, 105 has two bolts on top and two bolts on bottom forsecuring the system to neighboring racks and/or floor.

In a network room, cooling comes from floor in front of the racks, suchas through a raised floor (e.g., having perforated tiles) in front ofthe rack. Cool air is drawn through the hardware/equipment 110 andexhausted out to the next aisle behind it which is the hot aisle. Inaccordance with one embodiment, the integrated ventilation system 100,105 intakes air from the front of the rack and exhausts air into the hotaisle.

Referring to FIG. 2, sections 210, 220, 230 represent cold intake sidesof respective electronic machines or hardware 110, 200, 205 mounted inracks 115, 120, 130. Intake fans 140, 240 draw cold air in, directingthe cold air through the intake sections/cool side of the individualhardware 110. On the face of the integrated ventilation system 100opposite to a respective fan assembly 140, 150, one will notice that asection of the integrated ventilation system 100, 105 is capped off orenclosed with a blank or filler panel 145. Accordingly, on the backside,there are exhaust fans 150 drawing the air out into the hot aisle. Toeliminate re-circulation of hot exhaust air internally within theintegrated ventilation system 100, 105, removable filler panels (alsocalled blanking panels) 145 maybe installed in empty rack space of theintegrated ventilation assembly where fans are not installed. This typeof baffle or duct controls the airflow and prevents hot air in theproximity of the integrated ventilation system 100, 105 from being drawninto the inlets of neighboring equipment.

For each integrated ventilation system 100, 105, there may be an opencavity 160 that acts as a dedicated channel or passageway allowing airto flow into the intake of the individual hardware and/or allowing airto escape the outtake of the individual hardware. Accordingly, one ormore adjustable or removable filler panels (vertical face panels 145 andvertical side panels 155) may be fastened to locations on the frame ofthe integrated ventilation system 100, 105 to create a desired size ofthe cavity/passageway 160. For example, the size of thecavity/passageway 160 should generally correspond to the size of theinlet/exhaust vent of the electronic equipment or hardware 110 that isto be in fluid communication with the cavity/passageway 160. Throughproper sizing and alignment of one or more filler panels, the cavity maybe sized and aligned appropriately to fit the intake or exhaust vents,as the case may be, of a particular piece of equipment/hardware 110 toavoid air from one segregated aisle (e.g., hot or cold) escaping andmixing with air from the other segregated aisle (e.g., cold or hot).

With placement of the filler panels, the integrated ventilation system100, 105 may comprise a frame structure 310 (FIG. 3) including includestwo sidewalls 320, 330 (FIG. 3) formed of at least one removablevertical side panel 155, where one of the two sidewalls has a firstopening or cavity 160 defined by at least one removable vertical sidepanel 155, 355 (FIG. 3). The first opening or cavity 360 (FIG. 3) is achannel or passageway for receiving exhaust from an exhaust vent ofelectronic equipment or computer hardware positioned next to the framestructure, where the exhaust vent is positioned next to the firstopening 360. A second of the two sidewalls may also have a secondopening or cavity 370 (FIG. 3) defined by at least one removablevertical side panel 155, 355 where the second opening is fortransmitting intake air from at least one intake fan assembly 140 to anintake vent of electronic equipment positioned next to the framestructure. In particular, the intake vent is positioned next to thesecond opening 370.

The integrated ventilation system 100 is designed to help segregate thehot and cold air aisles in a network room from one another. In FIG. 2,at the bottom, intake fans 140 of system 100 direct air from a coldaisle in front of the racks 115, 120, 130 to the intake vents of machineor hardware 200. At the upper portion of the integrated ventilationsystem 100, outtake or exhaust fans 150 direct air from the exhaust orouttake vents of machine 110 to the hot aisle behind the racks. To keepthe respective airflow separate, an adjustable or removable segregationplate 165 (FIG. 2 and FIG. 3), which may be horizontally flat or tiltedat an angle relative to a base of the integrated ventilation system 100,is mounted to the support posts P1, P2, P3, P4 (FIG. 2) dividing theseareas of the integrated ventilation system 100, as shown. Also, verticalblank or filler plates 145 are mounted opposite exhaust fans 150 to keephot air from escaping to the cold aisle, and vertical blank or fillerplates 145 are mounted opposite intake fans 140 to keep cold air fromescaping to the hot aisle or mixing with hot air. The support posts P1,P2, P3, P4 (FIG. 2) comprising a frame of the integrated ventilationsystem 100 contains predrilled holes which are used to fasten respectiveplates to the support, as desired by a user. In one embodiment, sealingmembers, such as gaskets, rubber seals, or caulk, may be used to sealthe plates to the support structure to prohibit air from escaping in orout of the integrated ventilation system 100.

Referring to FIG. 2, the cable management assembly 132 helps managerouting of cable to and from the neighboring equipment 110, 200. Behindthe cable management assembly 132, fan sets 140 or blank plates 145 aremounted to the integrated ventilation system 100. Then behind the fansets 140, the integrated ventilation system 100 may be configured with acavity or compartment where air is being drawn into the cavity from thefan(s) 140. On the side near the cavity where the electronic equipmentor computer hardware sits, the electronic equipment also has its own fansets that draw air in or exhaust the air out. If one is not careful,when running and routing cables to various equipment, air flow may beobstructed to and from the electronic equipment. Accordingly, byintegrating one or more cable management assemblies 132, 135 on theintegrated ventilation system 100, management of the cables is improvedto help facilitate airflow. For example, cables may be bundled togetherand secured to rungs on the vertical cable management assembly 132 tohelp create and maintain open spaces within the cavity or compartment.By having a cable management assembly 132, 135 on both faces of theintegrated ventilation system 100, cables can be distributed between thefront and back to help create more space for unobstructed air flow.Also, the various fans 140, 150 included as part of the integratedventilation system facilitate air movement through the electronicequipment in neighboring rack(s). It is noted that various cablemanagement assemblies may be used in different embodiments of theintegrated ventilation system. In general, a cable management assemblyprovides rungs, rings, brackets, hooks, loops, clips, etc. whichfacilitate bundling and organized routing of network cables and cords.

As shown in FIG. 1, equipment 110 vertically overlaps with equipment 200but that does not necessarily mean that the intake/exhaust vents ofelectronic equipment 110 vertically overlaps with the intake/exhaustvents of equipment 200, since intake/exhaust vents do not generallyencompass a whole side of electronic equipment. The integratedventilation system 100 can be arranged to accommodate any configurationof the equipment by moving the necessary fans and plates, as needed.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a diagram showing a representation of oneembodiment of the integrated ventilation system 100 is shown. Pleasenote that the foregoing and following drawings are not necessarily toexact scale. The top portion of the figure shows a perspective view withthe front face of the integrated ventilation system 100 visible. In thisview, an open compartment or cavity 160 (FIG. 2) has been arrangedwithin the integrated ventilation system on a right side.Correspondingly, the bottom portion of the figure shows a perspectiveview with the rear face of the integrated ventilation system 100visible. In this view, the cavity 370 and exhaust fans 150 are visible,where they were not visible in the top portion of the figure. Vertices1, 2, 3, 4 have been marked in both portions of the representations toidentify corresponding locations within the two views.

A flow of air (A), such as from an exhaust vent of neighboringelectronic equipment, may be drawn to the cavity 360 and blown out ofthe rear of the integrated ventilation system 100 by one or moreexhausts fans in fluid communication with the cavity 360, asdemonstrated by the arrow marked B. Also, air may be drawn in to anothercavity (visible in the bottom portion as 370) by one or more intake fans140 (in fluid communication with the cavity), as demonstrated by arrowC, and directed to intake fans of neighboring equipment, as demonstratedby arrow D.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a diagram showing airflow patterns of oneimplementation of the integrated ventilation system 100 (FIGS. 1-3) isdepicted. Here, one integrated ventilation system 402 is positioned nextto a rack 410 of electronic equipment 415. Please note, that in order toillustrate the workings of the integrated ventilation system, theintegrated ventilation system 402, 404 is not shown in close positionwith the rack 410. In actual practice, however, the integratedventilation system 100 is in close position with (and may be in directcontact with) the rack 410, as represented in FIG. 5.

The rack 410 houses a piece of electronic equipment 415 at a top portionof the rack 410. The electronic equipment utilizes side-to-sideventilation, so an intake vent 420 is shown on the right side of theequipment 415. The intake vent 420 is positioned next to an open cavityor compartment (not shown since hidden from view) of integratedventilation system 402.

On the left side of the equipment 415, an exhaust or outtake vent 430 isrepresented although hidden from view. The exhaust vent 430 ispositioned next to an open cavity or compartment 460 of integratedventilation system 404. Accordingly, in practice, intake fans 440 ofintegrated ventilation system 402 draw ambient air into the open cavitynext to the intake vent 420 of the equipment 415 which is directed tothe intake vent 420, as represented by the dashed arrows. Then, airexhausted from the equipment 415 flows to the open cavity 460 of theintegrated ventilation system 404 and expelled out of the system 404 viaexhaust fans (which are not visible in this view), as represented by thedashed arrows.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a diagram showing the arrangement of FIG. 4. isshown with the addition of another rack 420 next to integratedventilation system 404. In rack 420, a piece of electronic or computerequipment is mounted at a bottom portion of the rack 420. It is notedthat the exhaust or outtake vent of equipment 415 would not overlap withthe intake vent of equipment 425 if they were positioned side by side.Accordingly, vertical placement of the exhaust vent of the electronicequipment 415 is offset from vertical placement of the intake vent ofthe electronic equipment 425. Arrow I1 represents ambient air beingdrawn in the open cavity of integrated ventilation system 402 anddirected to the intake vent of equipment 415. Arrow E1 representsexhaust air received by the open cavity of integrated system 404 andexhausted out of the back of the system by one or more exhaust fans(which are not visible in this diagram representation). Further, ArrowI2 represents ambient air being drawn from in front of the integratedventilation system 404 to the open cavity of integrated ventilationsystem 404 and directed to the intake vent of equipment 425. Arrow E2represents air being exhausted out of a side of the equipment 425 (dueto the non-existence of an integrated ventilation system in thisparticular arrangement which could move the exhaust air to a back of therespective racks). Therefore, due to the non-overlapping verticalplacement of the intake and exhaust vents of respective pieces ofequipment 415, 425 within respective network racks 410, 420, a singleintegrated ventilation system 404 can help facilitate intake airflow(12) for one piece of equipment 425 and help facilitate exhaust airflow(E1) for another piece of equipment 415.

In an arrangement having overlapping vertical placement of the intakeand exhaust vents of respective pieces of equipment 415, 435 withinrespective network racks 410, 420, two integrated ventilation systems406, 408 may be used, as shown in FIG. 7. Here, respective pieces ofequipment 415, 435 are mounted at a top portion of respective racks 410,430 and have intake and exhaust vents that would overlap with oneanother if placed side by side.

Arrow I1 represents ambient air being drawn in the open cavity of theintegrated ventilation system 402 and directed to the intake vent ofequipment 415. Correspondingly, Arrow E1 represents exhaust air receivedby the open cavity of integrated system 406 and exhausted out of theback of the system by one or more exhaust fans located at a top portionof the integrated ventilation system 406 (which are not visible in thisdiagram representation). Further, Arrow I3 represents ambient air beingdrawn from in front of the integrated ventilation system 408 to the opencavity of integrated ventilation system 408 and directed to the intakevent of equipment 435. Correspondingly, Arrow E3 represents air beingexhausted out of a side of the equipment 435 (due to the non-existenceof an integrated ventilation system in this particular arrangement whichcould move the exhaust air to a back of the respective racks).Therefore, due to the overlapping vertical placement of the intake andexhaust or outtake vents of respective pieces of equipment 415, 435within respective network racks 410, 430, multiple integratedventilation systems 406, 408 are used, since exhaust and intake fanswill overlap and cannot be positioned within a single integratedventilation system in such a manner. Note, without the multipleintegrated ventilation system, the equipment 415, 435 havingside-to-side cooling will draw air in and exhaust air out into adjacentequipment which is the intake side, and this equipment may then exhaustit out to the intake vent of another piece of equipment, all the whilecausing the temperature of the air to increase.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a flow chart diagram describing one embodimentof a method of providing ventilation to electronic equipment is shown.The method includes positioning (810) a ventilation structure 100 (FIGS.1-3) between and next to a first rack 120 (FIG. 1) housing firstelectronic equipment 110 (FIG. 1) and a second rack 130 (FIG. 1) housingsecond electronic equipment 200 (FIG. 1), where the ventilationstructure 100 has a box-like structure with at least one air inlet fanassembly 140 (FIG. 1) arranged in front face of the ventilationstructure 100 for transmitting intake air to an intake passageway 370(FIG. 3) and at least one air exhaust fan assembly 150 (FIG. 2) arrangedin a rear face of the ventilation structure 100 for receipt of exhaustair from an exhaust passageway 360 (FIG. 3). The method further includesconfiguring (820) the intake passageway 370 (FIG. 3) to be adjacent toan intake vent of the first electronic equipment 110 housed in the firstrack 120 and configuring (830) the exhaust passageway 360 to be adjacentto the exhaust vent of the second equipment 200 housed in the secondrack 130. One embodiment of the method further physically segregates(840) a first portion of the ventilation structure 100 from a remainingportion of the ventilation structure, where the first portion containsone of the first and second openings and the remaining portioncontaining a remaining one of the first and second openings.

Next, FIG. 9 is a flow chart diagram describing one embodiment of amethod of providing ventilation to electronic equipment includingpositioning (910) a first ventilation structure 402 (FIG. 4) next to afirst network rack 410 (FIG. 4) housing first electronic equipment 415(FIG. 4). The first ventilation structure 402 (FIG. 4) has a box-likestructure with at least one air exhaust fan assembly 150 (FIG. 4)arranged in a rear face of the ventilation structure 402 for receipt ofexhaust air from an exhaust passageway 460 (FIG. 4). The method furtherincludes positioning (920) a second ventilation structure 404 betweenthe first ventilation structure 402 and a second rack 430 (FIG. 4)housing second electronic equipment 435 (FIG. 4), where the secondventilation structure 404 has a box-like structure with at least one airinlet fan assembly 140 (FIG. 4) arranged in front face of the secondventilation structure 100 for transmitting intake air to an intakepassageway 370 (FIG. 3). The intake passageway is configured (930) to beadjacent to an intake vent of the second equipment 435 housed in thesecond rack 430, and the exhaust passageway is configured (940) to beadjacent to the exhaust vent of the first equipment 415 housed in thefirst rack 410.

Next, in FIG. 10, one embodiment of a method of providing ventilation toelectronic equipment is depicted within a flow chart diagram. The flowchart diagram recites receiving (1010) exhaust air flow from firstequipment 200 (FIG. 1) positioned next to a ventilation structure 100(FIG. 1) and directing (1020) the exhaust air to flow out of theventilation structure 100 (e.g., via use of exhaust fan assembly 150).The cold air is received (1030) at the ventilation structure 100 (e.g.,from an intake fan assembly 140) and directed (1040) to an intake ventof second equipment 110 (FIG. 1) positioned next to the ventilationstructure 100.

Various advantages of the present disclosure may be appreciated bycomparison of the present disclosure with conventional solutions tohandling the problem of ventilation in a network room or data center.Prior to the development of the integrated ventilation system, oneconventional design includes a chimney to direct the hot air return upinto the hot air return plenum and the cold air to be pulled from thecold aisle. This design is built for hardware that is setup forfront-to-back cooling. This design only works with facilities that havebeen designed around using a hot air return plenum and hardware thatdoes not use side-to-side cooling ventilation. A second conventionaldesign was built specifically for the Cisco Nexus chassis which employsside-to-side cooling. This has two main flaws, one being that it is 40inches in width and therefore takes up a lot of valuable real estatewhich could be utilized better when building in high density designs.The second flaw is that this design really only has one baffle systemthat directs the exhaust out the rear into the hot aisle. Therefore, thecold air intake has no baffle and is essentially drawing air in fromboth the hot and cold aisles which frustrates the purpose of a bafflesystem.

A third design employs a baffle system using a chimney to direct the hotair return up into the hot air return plenum and the cold air to bepulled from directly under the rack into systems/hardware. This designonly works with facilities that have been designed around using a hotair return plenum and does not appear to provide proper cubic feet perminute air flow into any large side-to-side cooling system/hardware.

With the present disclosure, an embodiment of an integrated ventilationsystem 100 having a small footprint draws in cold air and pushes out hotair, while providing cable management 130, 132 that helps furtherfacilitate airflow. In one embodiment, the integrated ventilation system100 contains a dedicated intake channel 370 for drawing cold air from acold aisle and a dedicated exhaust channel 360 for pushing hot air intoa hot aisle. Further, by extending the channels outside of a networkrack 120, 130, the entire space of the network rack 120, 130 can befully utilized to house additional electronic equipment. The disclosedintegrated ventilation system 100 will work and is adaptable with amultitude of vendor's hardware having side-to-side cooling/ventilation.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations,merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of thepresent disclosure. Thus, for example, any sequence(s) and/or temporalorder of steps of various processes or methods that are described hereinare illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should beunderstood that, although steps of various processes or methods may beshown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order, the stepsof any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out inany particular sequence or order, absent an indication otherwise.Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carriedout in various different sequences and orders while still falling withinthe scope of the present disclosure.

One should also note that conditional language, such as, among others,“can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise,or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generallyintended to convey that certain embodiments include, while otherembodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps.Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply thatfeatures, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or moreparticular embodiments or that one or more particular embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included orare to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of patent protection affordedthe present disclosure is to be defined by the appended claims ratherthan the description set forth herein. Many variations and modificationsmay be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departingsubstantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure.All such modifications and variations are intended to be included hereinwithin the scope of this disclosure and protected by the followingclaims.

Therefore, having thus described various embodiments, at least thefollowing is claimed:
 1. An integrated ventilation system for electronicequipment comprising: a frame structure defined by four vertical postshaving a rectangular cross-section; at least one air inlet fan assemblyarranged in a front face of the frame structure for transmitting intakeair to an intake passageway, the intake passageway for directing theintake air to an intake vent of electronic equipment positioned adjacentto the frame structure; at least one air exhaust fan assembly arrangedin a back face of the frame structure for receipt of exhaust air from anexhaust passageway, wherein the exhaust passageway is for directingexhaust air from an exhaust vent of electronic equipment positionedadjacent to the frame structure to the at least one exhaust fanassembly; at least one removable vertical face panel for mounting to aface of the frame structure to prohibit air from flowing in or out of aportion of the face being covered by the vertical face panel; at leastone removable vertical side panel for mounting to a side of the framestructure to prohibit air from traveling in or out of a portion of theside being covered by the vertical side panel, the side of the framestructure being adjacent to the face of the frame structure; at leastone removable horizontal segregating panel for prohibiting air to travelbetween a top portion above the removable horizontal segregating paneland a bottom portion below the horizontal panel; a first cable managerassembly integrated into the integrated ventilation system, wherein thefirst cable manager assembly extends from a front face of the framestructure; and a second cable manager assembly integrated into theintegrated ventilation system, wherein the second cable manager assemblyextends from a rear face of the frame structure.
 2. The integratedventilation system of claim 1, wherein a width of the face of the framestructure is six inches.
 3. An integrated ventilation system forelectronic equipment comprising: a frame structure defined by fourvertical posts having a rectangular cross-section; at least one airinlet fan assembly arranged in a front face of the frame structure fortransmitting intake air to an intake passageway, the intake passagewayfor directing the intake air to an intake vent of a first piece of theelectronic equipment positioned adjacent to the frame structure; and atleast one air exhaust fan assembly arranged in a rear face of the framestructure for receipt of exhaust air from an exhaust passageway, theexhaust passageway for directing exhaust air from an exhaust vent of asecond piece of the electronic equipment positioned adjacent to theframe structure to the at least one exhaust fan assembly.
 4. Theintegrated ventilation system of claim 3, further comprising: a firstcable manager assembly integrated into the integrated ventilationsystem, wherein the first cable manager assembly attaches to the frontface of the frame structure.
 5. The integrated ventilation system ofclaim 4, further comprising: a second cable manager assembly integratedinto the integrated ventilation system, wherein the second cable managerassembly extends from the rear face of the frame structure.
 6. Theintegrated ventilation system of claim 3, wherein a width of the frontface of the frame structure is six inches.
 7. The integrated ventilationsystem of claim 3, further comprising: at least one removable verticalside panel for mounting to a side of the frame structure to prohibit airfrom traveling in or out of a portion of the side being covered by thevertical side panel, the side of the frame structure being adjacent tothe face of the frame structure; at least one removable horizontalsegregating panel for prohibiting air to travel between a top portionabove the removable horizontal segregating panel and a bottom portionbelow the removable horizontal segregating panel; and at least oneremovable vertical face panel for mounting to a face of the framestructure to prohibit air from flowing in or out of a portion of theface being covered by the removable vertical face panel.
 8. Theintegrated ventilation system of claim 7, wherein the at least oneremovable vertical face panel is mounted to cover any opening in thefront face of the frame structure that does not contain the at least oneintake fan assembly.
 9. The integrated ventilation system of claim 8,wherein the at least one removable vertical face panel is furthermounted on the frame structure to cover any opening in the rear face ofthe frame structure that does not contain the at least one exhaust fanassembly.
 10. The integrated ventilation system of claim 7, wherein theintake passageway is framed by the at least one removable horizontalsegregating panel mounted to the frame structure, the at least oneremovable side vertical panel mounted to the frame structure, and the atleast one removable vertical face panel mounted to the front face of theframe structure.
 11. The integrated ventilation system of claim 7,wherein the exhaust passageway is framed by the at least one removablehorizontal panel mounted to the frame structure, the at least oneremovable side vertical panel mounted to the frame structure, and the atleast one removable vertical face panel at the rear face of the framestructure.
 12. The integrated ventilation system of claim 7, wherein theat least one removable segregating horizontal panel, the at least oneremovable vertical face panel, and the at least one removable side panelare attachable to the posts of the frame structure in a plurality ofmounting locations.
 13. The integrated ventilation system of claim 7,wherein the frame structure includes two sidewalls formed of the atleast one removable vertical side panel, one of the two sidewalls havinga cavity passageway defined by the at least one removable vertical sidepanel, the cavity passageway for receiving exhaust air from the exhaustvent of the second piece of electronic equipment positioned next to theframe structure, the exhaust vent being positioned next to the cavitypassageway.
 14. The integrated ventilation system of claim 7, whereinthe frame structure includes two sidewalls formed of the at least oneremovable vertical side panel, one of the two sidewalls having a cavitypassageway defined by the at least one removable vertical side panel,the cavity passageway for transmitting intake air from the at least oneintake fan assembly to the intake vent of the first piece of electronicequipment positioned next to the frame structure, the intake vent beingpositioned next to the cavity passageway.
 15. The integrated ventilationsystem of claim 7, wherein the frame structure includes: two sidewallsformed of the at least one removable vertical side panel, one of the twosidewalls having a first cavity passageway defined by the at least oneremovable vertical side panel, the first cavity passageway for receivingair exhaust from the exhaust vent of the second piece of electronicequipment positioned next to the frame structure, the exhaust vent beingpositioned next to the first cavity passageway, wherein a second of thetwo sidewalls has a second cavity passageway defined by the at least oneremovable vertical side panel, the second cavity passageway fortransmitting intake air from the at least one intake fan assembly to theintake vent of the first piece of electronic equipment positioned nextto the frame structure, the intake vent being positioned next to thesecond cavity passageway.
 16. A method of providing ventilation toelectronic equipment comprising: receiving, by a ventilation structure,exhaust air flow from first electronic equipment positioned next to aventilation structure, wherein the ventilation structure is defined byfour vertical posts; directing the exhaust air flow out of an exhaustfan assembly arranged in a rear face of the ventilation structure;receiving cold air from an intake fan assembly arranged in a front faceof the ventilation structure; and directing the cold air to an intakevent of second electronic equipment positioned next to the ventilationstructure.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first electronicequipment and the second electronic equipment utilize side-to-sideairflow cooling.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the exhaust airflow is directed to a rear of the ventilation structure and the cold airis received from a front of the ventilation structure.
 19. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising: positioning the ventilation structurebetween and next to a first rack housing the first electronic equipmentand a second rack housing the second electronic equipment, wherein theventilation structure having a box-like structure with the air intakefan assembly arranged in the front face of the ventilation structuretransmits intake air to an intake cavity passageway, wherein the airexhaust fan assembly arranged in the rear face of the ventilationstructure receives exhaust air from an exhaust cavity passageway;configuring the intake cavity passageway to be adjacent to an intakevent of the first electronic equipment housed in the first rack; andconfiguring the exhaust cavity passageway to be adjacent to the exhaustvent of the second electronic equipment housed in the second rack,wherein vertical placement of the intake vent of the first electronicequipment is offset from vertical placement of the exhaust vent ofsecond electronic equipment.
 20. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising: physically segregating a top portion of the ventilationstructure from a bottom portion of the ventilation structure, the topportion containing one of the intake and exhaust cavity passageways andthe bottom portion containing a remaining one of the intake and exhaustcavity passageways.